Anthony Hill on the story of his commitment, Steve Sarkisian's reaction
SAN ANTONIO — Despite a summer commitment to Texas A&M, the Longhorn coaches never wavered in their pursuit of On3 Consensus five-star Anthony Hill.
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Steve Sarkisian, Jeff Choate, and the rest of the Longhorn staff were relentless in their pursuit of the top linebacker in the country. Pair that effort with Texas A&M’s 5-7 campaign, and Hill ultimately elected to re-open his recruitment in early November.
Once the regular season ended and it came time for Hill schedule in-home visits, he scheduled just one and set it for December 15. Only burnt orange clad coaches would be entering his home.
“It was them,” Hill said Tuesday after a practice for the All-American Bowl. “I was going to let (Texas A&M linebackers coach Tyler) Santucci come but I decided to shut it down a week early, just get it over with, and get ready for the next chapter.”
Sarkisian, Choate, Pete Kwiatkowski, Jeff Banks, and Terry Joseph made their way to Denton to conduct their in-home visit on the 15th. While making that trip, they had no clue they had won Hill’s recruitment a couple of days prior. During the visit, Hill informed the coaches — and announced to the recruiting world — that he had committed to Texas.
“We kind of had it planned for two or three days before that,” Hill said. “When they came, it was a little bit of a surprise for them.”
How did Sarkisian and company react?
“They were shell-shocked,” Hill said. “They were celebrating and jumping around. My little brother was the happiest out of everybody.”
Hill became the second-highest ranked member of Texas’ 2023 class and the highest-rated player on the defensive side of the ball. He joined a linebacker class that included Liona Lefau, Derion Gullette, and S’Maje Burrell.
Even though he spent several months as an Aggie commit, Hill was able built a relationship with his fellow state of Texas linebackers in Gullette and Burrell
“We’ve all got a pretty tight bond because we’re all from the same DFW area,” Hill said. “I worked out with them before. We’ve all got a pretty tight bond.”
There was also a connection on the Texas roster in addition to the ones he had with his Ryan Raider teammates Austin Jordan and Ja’Tavion Sanders. Hill mentioned he had a good bond with Jaylan Ford, who led the Longhorns in tackles this season and was an AP third-team All-American.
But one of the main reasons he chose Texas? The role of DeMarvion Overshown, the player who often lined up next to Ford in the Will linebacker spot. Ford sees similarities between himself and Overshown, and Texas fans could see that bear out on the field next fall.
“I’m most likely going to be in that D-Mo spot,” Hill said. “I think that’s most likely where they’re going to play me at, and I’m wearing No. 0.”
Hill mentioned that between Texas and Texas A&M, his ability to see evidence on the field of Choate’s recruiting pitch was a significant factor behind his ultimate decision. On December 21, Hill put pen to paper and signed with the Longhorns. When school starts in Austin next week, he’ll be there to begin winter workouts.
All less than a month after he left the UT coaches shell-shocked in his living room.
Hill is ranked as the No. 15 overall prospect, the No. 1 linebacker, and the No. 4 prospect in Texas according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
